Portland artist’s nude rug turns up in garbage

McMINNVILLE, Ore. — Tamera Bremer has her woven self-portrait back. It’s a bit stinky but the image is as curvy and naked as the day it was stolen.

In October, the weaving was taken from an exhibit at Linfield College, where the Portland artist is an adjunct professor.

Police say a man saw it in a garbage bin Monday, recognized it from news about the theft and called. He’ll get the $500 reward the college offered.

The work is titled “The Sexy Sex: All Nude Revue Rug One.” It is a hooked rug in hand-dyed alpaca, 85 by 17 inches. Bremer said it took about two years to complete.

Michael Dressel, the campus safety director, said he had no reason to doubt the man who reported finding the rug in a trash bin at an apartment complex near the McMinnville college.

The rug was wet from rain but didn’t appear seriously damaged, Dressel said.

“My guess was that it had been in the dumpster a day, two or three. Hence it was a little stinky,” he said. “It wasn’t mistreated.”

Bremer gathered with friends Tuesday for a karaoke celebration, where she serenaded the piece — referred to as “she” and “her” — with Billy Squier’s “Everybody Wants You.”